Pereira, who has joined the Cobblers until the end of the season, told BBC Radio Northampton: "The fact that (manager) Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink called and spoke with me, and we already knew each other before, was obviously a very big help.

"A couple of months ago he called me when I was in Poland and I was very happy because not only do I know him very well as a manager, but as a player I was a very big fan of his."